Perfect Blue
by funkymoleperson
Summary: A collection of YuanRaine challenge oneshots for the lj community 30kisses.
1. these quiet afternoons

**Title**: These Quiet Afternoons  
**Pairing**: Yuan/Raine  
**Fandom**: Tales of Symphonia  
**Theme**: #3 - jolt!  
**Rating**: PG-13  
**Spoilers**: Post-game.  
**Disclaimer**: I do not own Tales of Symphonia.

_These Quiet Afternoons_

Looking out over the sand dunes, Yuan refused to admit that he was looking for her.

For many weeks now Raine Sage had been coming to the near-empty Renegade Base to make use of its library, full of "bits and pieces of the Kharlan War". Yuan had been unwilling to let her near any of his treasure trove full of buried memories in the beginning, but she had worn him down in the end. He hadn't known a woman with this kind of relentlessness since Martel.

He was amazing at how genuinely interested in the war his fellow half-elf was. Yuan had noted how little humans cared for their own past - after all, it was four thousand years before one of them finally figured out the true nature of the worlds. Yet Raine attacked every manuscript with a passion, reading as if she did not have a good life span left to take her time with. Yuan sure as hell had more time than he could handle.

The faint sound of muffled footfalls finally reached Yuan's ears, even though he was _not_ straining to hear them. Soon enough, a silver head appeared followed by the rest of Raine as she appeared at the top of one of the dunes, clutching her staff. She saw the seraphim waiting for her and gave him a half-smile, too tired to show any more emotion than that. Damn, she was _drained_. Yuan flew out to meet her, violet wings gusting as he landed on the sand.

"You could have taken a rheaird," he said, raising an eyebrow.

Raine rolled her eyes and walked on ahead. "It's good exercise."

"_Good exercise_ is walking from your humble house in Iselia to the Irving boy's house. _Insanity_ is walking from your house _in Iselia_ to this base out in _the middle of the desert_," Yuan replied dryly.

The half-elf woman ahead of him shrugged. "It was worth it."

"How long did it take you, a week?" he continued. They were getting close to the entrance to the base now. Raine could walk fast through the shifting sands when she put her mind to it.

"Three days," she replied, turning back to him and giving him a pointed look that said he had better let it drop.

Yuan smirked at her and stopped to open the door. "Well, have fun with the books. I'll be in my study, not that I'm offering anything if you need it."

"I'll be sure to keep that in mind," Raine responded stiffly, walking into the base. A wave of cold air washed over her, a relief from the hot weather outside. Yuan closed the door behind him and both went in separate directions; Raine to the library, and Yuan to his study.

What Yuan didn't understand was why Raine would make the distance each time when she only ever stayed for a few hours. It was one thing if she used a rheaird every time she came, but the young woman would actually _walk_ the distance on occasion, like today. _Madness_.

Still, he was beginning to enjoy her company - even if it was only the knowledge that there was another living, breathing person taking up space in the cursed building. But Raine was more than that, really. She didn't bother him with excessive chatter, not that she could when they were in separate rooms, but sometimes he could see the suppressed delight in her eyes as she anticipating the books she would be reading. And maybe it was nice to have someone else with intelligence to match his around. It was know wonder Sybak had wanted the woman. She had brains, if anything. Brains, and wit as well. But Yuan didn't want to think overmuch about that, to let Raine's face flash across his mind again, and all the thoughts that accompanied it. Like, that she was actually quite pretty, for one...

All this extra time was _really_ starting to get to him.

As the sun sank lower in the sky and the shadows began to lengthen, Yuan heard movement once more as Raine walked down the hall; finished for the day. Though the seraphim was not quite sure what compelled him to do so, he moved to meet her.

"...Raine?" he called, through the doorway, looking down towards the end of the passage where she stood with her hand on the door. Raine turned towards him.

"Yes?" she asked, looking surprised. Normally the half-elven woman simply _left_, and the two did not exchange farewells.

Yuan paused. "It's such a long walk...and there's little light left. You'll kill your eyes and won't be able to read your precious books."

Raine looked amused. "I've managed before."

"You can stay here the night and fly home in a rheaird tomorrow. You're tired enough as is; you shouldn't kill yourself on my account," he said slowly. Raine looked doubtful.

"I can reach Triet in enough time and stay there the night before continuing on," she replied. Yuan let out a frustrated sigh. This woman was hard to work with.

"I'll give you a firsthand account of the war, if you stay. Not all in one night, but I'll tell you some this evening. And when you come next and so forth," he said grudgingly. "But _only_ if you stay."

Raine froze. "Are you serious?"

Yuan looked nuetral. "Mostly."

Raine's eyes lit up and she began to smile. This was not like her tired half-smile from before. This was a huge, if not slightly intimidating, smile. Yuan swallowed.

Like a light beam Raine shot down the hallway and was at the seraphim's side in seconds. She looked about ready to throw her arms around him, but didn't, instead planting an ecstatic kiss on his cheek and beginning to ask about a thousand questions, talking a mile a minute. Yuan stared at her in silence, his cheek tingling from where she had thoughtlessly pressed her lips. Finally, he snapped.

Raine was caught in mid-sentence when Yuan bent down and kissed her on the lips, eyes narrowed challengingly as if daring her to laugh. Raine's eyes twinkled and she encircled her arms around his neck, kissing him back. When she pulled away, Yuan was shocked to see Raine smirking at him, and he couldn't help but wonder if she'd planned this from the start. But hell, it didn't matter who had started it. Yuan was quite satisfied.

And just because he felt like it, he kissed her again.

_Fin._


	2. deadly dance

**Title**: Deadly Dance  
**Pairing**: Yuan/Raine  
**Fandom**: Tales of Symphonia  
**Theme**: #19 - red  
**Rating**: PG-13  
**Spoilers**: Post-game. (AU)  
**Disclaimer**: I do not own Tales of Symphonia.

_Deadly Dance_

Thunder rumbled in the distance as the first raindrops hit the roof of the mansion. Inside the dining hall stood a tall figure with short silver hair and blue-violet eyes. The woman had on very stiff formal wear, and in her hand she clutched a glass of red wine. The room around her was illuminated by candles and nothing more; while some parts of the world were technologically advanced, Ozette was not.

Lighting flashed outside, creating sporadic moments of true brightness whose afterglow seemed to make the woman look ghostly, or perhaps it was simply the starkness of the colors around her. Nonetheless, it was all she could do to keep the hand that was holding the wine steady. She took a large swallow, eyes darting back and forth nervously. Fearfully.

Down below her somewhere she heard crashes and clangs of metal on metal. She did not know how the battle was going and it haunted her as she paced back and forth, drinking the cloyingly sweet wine to calm her nerves. This was not what she had fought for, she wanted to scream. Not this!

After the two worlds had been restored to their original forms, all had been well for a time. Raine Sage had journeyed to many lands with her brother in hopes of ending the tension between the races of humans, elves, and half-elves. At first, everything seemed well. Even Queen Hilda of Tethe'alla had leant her support.

But time passed and the queen had died and another rose in her stead and soon there came a rumor that the King Regent of Sylvarant was plotting something. In the past years the free cities of Izoold and Iselia had slowly been filtering out the humans. In the beginning it had seemed that the human's simply sought a change of scenery, but it was not long before the ugly truth unfurled.

Unbeknownst to the Tethe'alla government and most of the eastern region of Sylvarant, half-elves were massing a revolt. Human families were being forced out of their homes or slaughtered. While the King Regent dwelled in the royal city of Asgard like the rulers of old, it was almost certain to the allied territory of Tethe'alla that he had orchestrated the killings, being a half-elf himself. New prejudices sprung up and the eve of war was at hand.

Raine had been living in an isolated spot on the south-east continent of Tethe'alla when the fighting began to break out. She had not received word until it became widespread and a band of human vigilantes had come to her home with the blood-lust in their hearts. These same humans who had once offered her shelter in their Houses of Salvation only years before.

The very thing that she had worked to end had backfired. Raine could not have imagined the devastation that would come to the lands, but it had. With a vengeance. Though it had been a risk, she had sought out the only other person she could think of who might know the details of wars in ages past and how these horrors might be stopped...

The sounds of fighting were getting closer. No longer being able to take the tension, Raine made a sudden movement and threw her glass against the table, the resounding smash being able to snap her back to something akin to ready. Pieces of glass scattered and the wine sloshed, making the red tablecloth stain even darker. The candlelight reflected in the half-elven woman's eyes, which were narrowed slightly. She stopped pacing and picked up her staff, falling into a ready stance.

She hadn't seen her brother in years when they had finally met on that fateful day when she'd almost been killed. He had grown into a good looking young half-elf with long silver hair and fine features, but the change in his character had astounded her. She had not seen such self-assured arrogance and spite since Mithos, and he was long gone. Brother Dearest, Genis Sage, was the commanding officer of the Sylvarant army, on personal terms with the King Regent himself. She had gone to him originally for assistance - perhaps she still imagined she could protect him, even though it was half-elves attacking humans that had begun the war. However, what she had found was a cold, sadistic, heartless man. A man who had once been her brother. A man who _wanted_ the humans to die.

She had tried, in a confused, desperate sort of way, to remind him of a human boy he had befriended in times past, but he was indifferent to the argument. Lloyd was dead now, he said. They all were. But he - she, they would outlive the humans. They would out gain technology as well for their magical ability. Soon half-elves would be the superior race and the shadows of oppression would finally be lifted from their shoulders. They would be able to do as they please, for once. The pure elves would be allowed part of Tethe'alla for their own people, but the humans must die. It was the humans that were weak-hearted, that hated, that oppressed.

There had been no reasoning with him, so she had made to depart, only to be stopped again. If she was not with them, she was considered an enemy. While he would not kill his own blood, he would not let her go free. It had been that night that her final hope had come to her, anticipating the worst, and the two had flew away as far as possible - to Tethe'alla to assess the situation.

The door burst open and the man of her thoughts stood, long blue hair wild and unkempt, blood running down his side and off his butterfly sword. The air around him crackled with electricity.

"You'd best start your spell now," he said quietly, and Raine could here the stairs creak as men rushed up after her companion. They would meet them soon enough.

"Yuan..." she began, looking pointedly at his injury. He glared at her.

"They'll be here any second now! Prepare your attack spell first, _then_ heal me, if you must," the seraphim growled. A pale violet light began to glow around him and he unfurled his wings. "Damn, they're almost here..."

But when they had arrived, two half-elves in the midst of the chaos, it was not long before they discovered that Tethe'alla's government was overthrown. The royal city of Meltokio was overrun with people of all races, half-mad, half-dead. The streets were slick with blood. With no answers and more questions, the two had journeyed to Mizuho where an emergency counsel was being held. Underground peace alliances between those of different races who had no desire for the fighting were forming. In the ruins of Ozette there was an abandoned mansion from just after the reunion of the worlds and the alliance had formed their base of operations there in secret.

Eventually, though, it seemed that the war had extended beyond that of race discrimination. The half of Sylvarant that was under the shady King Regent's rule had begun use of the remaining ranches. There were rumors of some new exphere that had been developed and far worse. The half-elves had begun their march to stamp out the secret alliances, possibly to cover both worlds with their rule.

Now, somehow the mansion had been discovered. Raine had known it would come, but she hadn't expected it to be this soon. Something dark was at work here. Some sorcery. She had known discrimination, she had known hate. But this...was something worse.

The first soldiers met Yuan in the doorway. His body moved in a continuous motion, swinging his sword left and right, spinning so fast that Raine could hardly keep up with his movements. But she had a job to do now, not simply watch her companion fight. Raising her staff, she began her spell, yellow light surrounding her.

Flashes of violet and purple told the half-elven woman that Yuan had begun to use his own magic. She said the last words of her spell and a burst of energy tore from her, casting all the soldiers surrounding the former leader of the renegades to the wall. He looked back once to give her a brief smile, then ran to meet new incomers.

Feeling slightly more secure in her surroundings, Raine ran out in the hall to join the fray more directly. While she wasn't nearly as good with her staff in hand-to-hand combat, spells took times to cast, and in these close quarters she wouldn't have enough time for another one. Looking at the numbers, the former schoolteacher knew that they were fighting a losing battle, even if Yuan _was_ an angel with advanced combat abilities.

Fighting her way over to him, Raine reached out and clasped the seraphim's hand. "Before I die.."

Yuan pulled away, hacking at his opponents. "You'll only die if you stop fighting, Raine, get your staff up!"

Raine glared, giving a soldier next to her a good butt with the end of her staff. "You don't know that. We're swamped and we might not live. So just - oh, good riddance..."

She threw herself forward, staff lighting up with a healing spell as she touched Yuan's side where he was wounded, kissing him briefly on the lips before kicking a soldier who was on the verge of stabbing from the side. Yuan's eyes widened, but he did not stop moving, reacting to every swing that came his way. It seemed that the fighting would go on forever...

Then there was a resounding boom and part of the outer wall crumbled. A woman slightly younger than Raine with long gold hair and white robes appeared, pale pink wings beating against the wind and rain. Power radiated from her and her light blue eyes were hard as steel.

"Desist!" she commanded in a thunderous voice, and everyone froze. "This is an abomination in the eyes of the Goddess of the Tree and of all the living! If this fighting continues, you will destroy yourselves! Do you want your tree - the source of your very _existence_ to die?! Then decide quickly, for it withers as we speak. Not in many a millennia have these worlds seen destruction such as this!"

"The darkness rises, little angel," came a soft, slippery voice from the shadows. "The world that lies below your worlds is in revolt. The Dark will consume All." There was a tinkling of laughter, and then silence.

The golden angel suddenly looked alarmed and stepped towards Raine. Yuan turned, as if in slow motion, but neither would come in time.

Raine's world went red.

Wine, blood, Yuan's shirt so close to her face, pain, warmth...crimson red taking up her vision...

"Nooooooo..."

Then nothing.

Then everything.

Morning broke on the sands of the Triet desert, bright and hot. The sands were always shifting, constantly changing patterns and burying all beneath. It was oddly quiet, except for the occasional chirp of a bird. Inside the former Renegade Base, Yuan sat beside a bed, looking at the figure that lay there. The figure stirred.

"Y..n..Yuan?" the woman blinked groggily. Yuan tried to hide the relief in his eyes.

"Raine." he responded quietly, taking one of her hand in his own with an unusual gentleness.

"What happened? I thought I was dead..." Raine murmured sleepily. "There was fighting, and then Colette came, and then...there was the shadow...and I..."

Yuan frowned. "It would seem the Goddess herself came to put an end to things."

"Martel?" Raine asked softly, and Yuan stiffened, but he shook his head.

"No...do you remember when she came? The green woman. She's not Martel. She's the Tree, or something akin to it," he looked exhausted. "This place has barely been touched, but look over most of the land and almost everything has been destroyed. I've never seen...the Kharlan War was bad, but _this_...how could Nebliheim have this much power? Those monsters were only ever of a simple fighting capability. Their expertise was never in warfare."

"Necrominicon..." Raine murmured.

Yuan looked up. "What?"

"The Dark Book of Necrominicon," the silver haired woman replied thoughtfully. "I had it from when we defeated Abyssion before the defeat of Mithos. When I moved to Tethe'alla I must have left it in Genis' care. He's an intelligent warlock, no doubt he was interested enough in the writings. The Genis I met with during the war seemed to be under some dark influence. Surely if the Guardian of the Tree can save me, she would have saved those others? I must pay a visit to my brother." She made a move to rise, but Yuan pushed her back down.

"You're not in perfect condition," he snapped. "And that's only assuming that you're scheming little sibling is still alive. Give it time, we have plenty."

"No. We don't. We go _now_, even if you have to carry me," Raine snarled back, even more dangerously, making Yuan pause. "Whatever wounds I have left to heal may wait. For now this mystery must be solved."

Yuan raised an eyebrow, but soon enough he was flying through the sky towards Asgard with Raine in his arms, one arm lightly draped around his neck. It made him think of when she kissed him in battle and he wondered what she had meant by it.

Genis was waiting for them - her, really, when they arrived. Before Raine could even ask, he held up a hand. "It is impossible to tell you everything now, Raine. Tabatha was by earlier - Guardian or whatever she is, but it'd much easier to call her Tabatha, isn't it? I was just looking through the book, I swear, but something happened to it and that's when the riots started. Then I heard all sorts of things about tampered expheres and came to the conclusion that the dimensional rift between our worlds and Niblheim that had first been caused in the Kharlan War had somehow widened. I realized that the dark energy of the book had been amplified by the Cruxis Crystal I kept from when Presea died. When the shadows took you, or so Colette tells me, Tabatha came in full strength. She had already intended to move, sending Colette out as a messenger when the tree began to drain. There was nothing to be done but seal the rift. Colette and Tabatha cast some sort of light spell and forced the monsters back through the rift and forced it back together. This, supposedly, has been on the verge of happening for centuries, but the reunion of the two worlds had such a power surge that the mana level rose, and set this whole thing off."

"Don't think you're going to get away with just an "I'm sorry", mister," Raine said crossly. "You should know better than to fiddle with my research." She winced as a sharp pain lanced through her shoulder, reminding her of the shadow. "You almost got me and the other peoples killed but for the weakness in the hearts of some. Your own prejudices magnified tenfold; how do you like it?"

Genis hung his head in shame. Yuan stood in silence.

"I would like to return, now," Raine said at last. "I have much to think about and I need a long rest. You will offer your assistance to Tabatha and Colette to begin rebuilding things. It may have been accidental, but the consequences...needless to say they were bad enough. While it may have happened regardless, it had happened now and should never, spirits be good, happen again."

With that she leaned tiredly against Yuan and the two of them departed. On the way back to the base, Raine fell into a doze. Looking at the devastation below, that was old and new to Yuan, but completely new to the woman in his arms, the seraphim sighed. Another war, another almost-love, and another long century of living in his own unhappiness. What good was left in this tormented life at all?

Raine's eyes flickered open, and for a moment the two looked at each other. Raine smiled slightly, and slowly, gradually, Yuan began to smile back.

_Fin._

**Author's Note**: Possibly the most bizarre plot-bunny to ever come my way. Did that even make _sense_?


	3. silence

**Title**: Silence  
**Pairing**: Yuan/Raine  
**Fandom**: Tales of Symphonia  
**Theme**: #4 - our distance and that person  
**Rating**: PG-13  
**Spoilers**: Ending Spoilers.  
**Disclaimer**: I do not own Tales of Symphonia.

_Silence_

She was beautiful, Yuan had thought when he'd first met her. It wasn't her face that captured him the most, but her presence. The soothing but firm _earthiness_ that was Martel. There was no other way to describe her, running across the road with her green hair flying behind her, feet pounding against the earth. She had be strong, in more than one sense, and could always hold her own. Sometimes she could be so free and easy, and others so serious and thoughtful. But her real strength...the determination in her heart, that unwavering belief in her ideals, perhaps those were what made him fall in love with her.

Raine was nothing like Martel. Being a half-elf, no, it was simply not what defined her. Raine was never easy, it seemed, and her temper was too quick; her will too guarded. Most of all, she had doubts. Weakness in Yuan's eyes.

Yet she haunted him. Her violet eyes, her half-smile, and how she looked bent over the pages of a tome, studying into the early hours of the morning. And so he'd let her stay.

_"Yu...an..." Martel whispered, wincing as she tried to draw her wings back in. Blood ran down her side, soaking her robes. A tear leaked out her right eye, slipping off to the side. In the background, Yuan could hear shouts - Mithos and Kratos, perhaps. White noise. At if things had stopped somehow, and all there was was Martel, and she was dying._

"I want...ed..." the seraphim woman struggled to voice her thoughts. "I wanted the discrimination to end. Please...it must stop. Please...Yuan..."

The light in her bright green eyes was fading, and it was as if he could see her from a different angle now. At the center of the tree, as if asleep. The blast of the cannon that tearing through Yuan's heart, and then a cry of pain, ringing in his ears. Silence.

He had been silent then, but now, he could not seem to stop screaming. "MARTEL! MARTEL! MARTEL! NO, DAMNIT!"

SLAP.

"Mar...tel..." Yuan gasped, jerking up. So, he had fallen asleep at his desk...

"Snap out of it." A slightly high-pitched voice came through his fuddled brain and the renegade leader realized someone was shaking him.

He looked up. Violet eyes...hers. Silver bangs falling across her face. Was that...worry?

Raine murmured an apology. "Sorry to have disturbed you, but you were screaming out...as if you were in pain."

Yuan looked away, opening his mouth to say something and finding he couldn't. He felt a hesitant hand touch his cheek, brushing away a tear he hadn't even known was there.

"I shall return to my work, then," Raine said softly, and straightened up, only to be stopped by a hand on her arm. She looked back at Yuan. He reached up to touch her cheek.

"The last woman I kissed died," he said in a whisper. "If I kiss you, will you die as well?"

Raine let out a small sigh, taking her free arm to brush away his. "We all die at one time or another, Yuan." She began to move away. 

Yuan stood up in a rush, stepping forward and catching her before she could leave, spinning the other half-elf around to face him. She looked alarmed, and he saw a certain apprehension in her eyes. She'd been hurt once, and so had he, but he was tired of grieving.

He kissed her. And, in her own turn, she didn't resist.

When he opened his eyes, Yuan saw violet eyes looking back at him.

"You're still in love with her," Raine said, bitterness in her voice. "So why must you kiss me like this? Your love ended in death, but mine wasn't nearly so poetic."

"Raine..." Yuan trailed off. "I've put my trust on your shoulders. It's your choice whether to keep it there or not."

Raine shook her head. "I'm tired, you know."

"Well, so am I," Yuan replied.

Raine was silent for a long time. "Very well, I'll…trust you."

Yuan gave her a weary smile, and she reached up to kiss him once again.

In a strange way, Yuan found that the silence that had been looming around him for so long was finally broken.

_Fin._


	4. memories

**Title**: Memories  
**Pairing**: Yuan/Raine  
**Fandom**: Tales of Symphonia  
**Theme**: #20 - the road home  
**Rating**: PG-13  
**Spoilers**: Ending Spoilers.  
**Disclaimer**: I do not own Tales of Symphonia. 

_Memories_

_"You'll wake the baby!"_

Raine froze. What?

"You'll wake the baby!"

No...no, that doll in your arms isn't Raine. I'm Raine!

"You'll wake the baby!"

Do you really...not remember me?

"You'll wake the baby!"

The baby...

The baby...

Noooooooooooooooooooooooo!

Raine woke with a start.

"Sis? You okay?" Genis mumbled, stirring slightly. The professor was sitting up in bed, rigid, clutching her arms and looking frightened.

"It's n...nothing, Genis," She answered in a hushed voice. "Go back to sleep." In a few seconds she heard snoring coming from one bed over and knew her brother had indeed fallen back asleep.

Slowly, the young half-even woman pulled back the covers and got out of bed, slipping on her slippers and robe as she did so. As Raine stepped outside, she clutched her arms more tightly, feeling the cool evening air hit her with a blast. It was cloudy and little light from the moon or stars shone through. The professor did not seem to notice, too preoccupied with her own thoughts.

Wandering through the trees, flashes of her dream and the memories it contained ran through her mind like am unending roll of film that Raine was powerless to stop. She was only able to watch Virginia over and over as she said those words...as she looked into Raine's eyes and did not show recognition. Raine was the rag doll in Virginia's arms, not the young woman who had stood in that room, fighting back tears. Raine's throat tightened painfully.

"_You're_ certainly dressed warmly for such a cold night as this," someone said wryly. Raine whirled around to see Yuan step out of the shadows. She reddened slightly at his pointed look at her nightgown and robe.

"But don't let me question you," the cerulean-haired seraphim drawled. "I'm sure the wise professor knows _exactly_ what she's doing."

Raine shot him a glare and stalked off in a random direction, not in the mood to listen to the other's banter. Yuan deliberately avoided taking the hint and continued to keep pace with her.

"I wonder what she's doing outside on a night like this?" he asked gesturing emphatically. "Probably research, as always..."

"Shut up..." Raine growled softly.

"Sorry, didn't quite catch that..." Yuan circled in front of her, leaning his ear in closer to hear, but with his ear came the rest of his face, and in that second, rage boiled up in Raine like an eruption.

"I said..." she began softly. "SHUT _UP_!"

She slapped him.

"You..." Yuan touched his cheek. "You're crying."

"I am _not_!" Raine screamed, whirling away, but he caught her arm deftly.

"Raine." Yuan looked straight at her. Raine went still, tears rolling down her unmoving features. "You want to tell me what is going _on_ with you?"

"It's awfully bold of you to ask that," the silver-haired woman snapped. "After how many conversations we had...two? Three? And they weren't even conversations."

Yuan frowned. "They were debates."

"Arguments, more like," Raine replied tersely.

"You can't keep it inside forever, you know," he said in a softer tone.

"To what end?" Raine asked, then shook her head. "Oh, never mind. You'll never go away, will you? Well, I'm not really...from Iselia. I'm not even from Sylvarant."

"You're from Tethe'alla," Yuan supplied. Raine nodded.

"Heimdall, actually," she replied quietly. Yuan's eyes widened a margin. "Yes, there. My mother was an elf, you see. But the man she chose to love was human, and the children they bore - myself, and then Genis - were half-elves. Of course we could not stay, but I had not imagined...that there would be no other place for us to live. But we were always running. Genis was only a baby, he doesn't remember it at all...but I...do...

"Mother chose to send us through the Otherworldly Gate to the legendary land of Sylvarant. But the boat...I...we...Genis and I...were lost in the sea. We almost drowned. Somehow we made it, but I was only eleven, in a new world with a baby to care for and no one to turn to," she paused.

"...and no one to care for you." Yuan commented, but Raine continued as if he had not said anything.

"When we came to Tethe'alla for the first time...we saw many things. I did not know that Mother was still alive. She was living in Exire with the other half-elves who had no homes among the humans or the elves," the young professor looked at her hands, clenching them and unclenching them as if only to make sure she was still there. "She...she didn't _know_ me. Her with that disgusting _doll_, pretending to be pregnant with a child that I'd spent half my life raising."

Yuan hesitantly wrapped his arms around Raine, pressing his lips to the top of her head, giving what comfort he could. Raine leaned against him slightly, closing her eyes and whispering into his chest:

"Sometimes I hate her so much."

She sobbed.

Yuan let out a small sigh, a put his hand to the side of Raine's face. "Look at me."

Raine's violet eyes flicked upwards. Yuan looked into them.

"I am looking at you," he said firmly, his voice barely above a whisper. A drop of rain splattered on the top of his head, and then hers, and then it was sprinkling. "I am seeing you. And I am telling you to _stop holding back_."

Raine looked confused. "I don't understand...holding back what?"

"I am telling you," Yuan continued. "to stop. You are blaming yourself for things that were out of your control. If you continue to hold back your anger, you will always resent your mother for what has happened. You will continue to live with your shame. It was not your fault, Raine."

Raine stepped away. "How...?"

Yuan gave her a half-smile. "I thought your rage was legendary."

Raine glared at him, but her eyes softened. She paused.

"Go on. Attack me if you want. Or the tree. It doesn't matter." He watched her calmly.

"No..." Raine murmured. "It does matter." She closed her eyes. 

"It wasn't fair, I guess. Everything. Having to leave because I wasn't a full-blood elf. Always having to run. Being sent through the gate. Raising Genis on my own. Raising myself on my own..."

She was silent, and then Raine let out a piercing scream.

"IT WASN'T FAIR, DAMNIT!"

Yuan smirked. "That's better."

Raine regarded him silently, then walked over and kissed him on the lips. "Thank you."

Yuan looked mildly surprised, but his smile softened. "Go home. You're already wet, and you're only getting wetter."

"Okay..." Raine muttered, turning away and wrapping her robe tighter around her body.

"And Raine?" Yuan added.

"Yes?" Raine looked back.

"I know," he replied. "that it wasn't fair."

Raine smiled.

_Fin._


	5. perfect blue

**Title**: Perfect Blue  
**Pairing**: Yuan/Raine  
**Fandom**: Tales of Symphonia  
**Theme**: #15 - perfect blue  
**Rating**: PG-13  
**Spoilers**: Ending Spoilers.  
**Disclaimer**: I do not own Tales of Symphonia.

_Perfect Blue_

With a smile, Raine Sage walked out onto the dais.

She was in Asgard for one purpose this day; to dance. This time there were no demons to battle, or crowds of tourists coming to watch, only the half-elven professor. Walking forward, Raine took a few practice steps on the cold stone beneath her feet, staff clutched in her hands. She wore the traditional maiden's garb, whose cap helped to keep her short silver hair from flying all over the place. It was very cool and windy today.

Raine paused in the center of the stone relic to look up at the sky. It was so blue today; a fresh contrast from the dull gray it had been for the past few weeks. The rainy season was upon Sylvarant, but for now there was some repast. Raine didn't mind the rain, truly, but she welcomed the change nonetheless. Not like Zelos, who was most likely spending his afternoon on the Altamiran beach. That man was the _limit_. Raine did wonder how Sheena put up with him nowadays.

The wind blew gently against the half-elven teacher's face, almost as a reminder for her original intention. She leaned in to the wind for a moment and then began to move, whirling around with practiced ease.

The sun moved high in the clear blue sky above a graceful dancer, for once alone but for the birds and the wind. However, out of the sun's sight, amidst the shadows, the dancer had one more observer. He stood behind a pillar in silence, his cape the only part of him that moved.

Raine didn't notice that she had an audience at first. It was only a little while later, when the shadows had begun to lengthen, that she first set eyes on the other. _Him_. Yuan. Mild surprise registered in the silver-haired woman's eyes before she turned her head away to hide a smile.

"What are you doing out here? I thought you were too wrapped up in your...work," she commented dryly. It wasn't that Yuan ever did any of his old work, with no real leader to oppose anymore, but it seemed the last remaining seraphim could not remain idle. He spent all of his time in his study or around the base, making sure everything continued running and working on unfinished plans for re-creating the magitechnology of old. While Raine shared a passion for the work, she had begun to realize that the likelihood of her world seeing such power again was slim.

"You didn't come back today," Yuan replied as neutrally as possible, stepping out into the light and pointedly refusing to meet her gaze.

For a moment, Raine thought he might be worried about her. It was hard to believe; in all the time he'd been allowing her to work and study in his base, Yuan had never showed any sign of concern for her well being. And yet, why else would the former leader of the Renegades come looking for her, traveling all the way from Triet?

Raine descended from the dais, walking over to the careworn angel, and reaching up to brush her lips briefly against his cheek.

"Thank you," she whispered, and could swear she saw the ghost of a smile playing on his mouth. Then, Yuan wrapped an arm around Raine's shoulders and the two walked back down the hill towards the rheairds.

And the sky was perfect blue.

_Fin._


	6. silhouettes

**Title**: Silhouettes  
**Pairing**: Yuan/Raine  
**Fandom**: Tales of Symphonia  
**Theme**: #8 - our own world  
**Rating**: PG  
**Spoilers**: Ending Spoilers.  
**Disclaimer**: I do not own Tales of Symphonia. 

_Silhouettes_

There is a certain peace of mind that comes with sitting down and weaving the story tapestry, Raine has found. Her days are simple here, yet somehow more full than she had expected. Her days of traveling the world have been put on pause, if not stopped altogether, and as the days lengthen and she still remains as the resident Storyteller up in the reclusive peaks of the Latheon Gorge.

It is a task that both satisfies her need to learn and her need to care for herself. She has always been responsible for other people, but she's tired now, and fifty years in, all her former companions seem much more than miles away. Now she had laid down her staff and no longer seeks battle, intent on completing the small chores of the day. A morning walk to fetch fresh water, some practical breakfast - fruit and bread has always made a good start for the day. Some weaving, and then a light lunch outside by the falls. In the afternoon she sometimes reads, or makes a few notes in her journals, which have yet to be shared with the world, despite all the knowledge they now contain. And then in the evening, she sometimes likes to stargaze, and wonders how she has never really had the chance to look up before.

Yuan arrives at a time so unexpected, she assumes that he cannot possibly have realized that it is her birthday. It is even more apparent that he wasn't even expecting to run into _her_ here, as he makes a sound akin to a yelp when she opens the door to his knock.

"You?!" he exclaims, unable to hide his surprise and slight scorn, as if he could have never imagined her here of all places. Raine folds her arms and glares, unimpressed by his display.

"Looking for the storyteller?" she asks sharply, and he frowns.

"I...had hoped to take over the post, but it seems it's already been taken," he replies dryly, looking her up and down with an unabashed stare. "May I come in?"

-

It is unclear to her in the later months how Yuan managed to take up residence in the cottage, but somehow he has. It is even more unclear to her why she tolerates this, as he takes amusement in reading her journals and correcting her on her notes. Perhaps it is a fascination she has for him, with few men in her life to compare to, that makes him such an oddity. Perhaps she feels challenged in a way that has never happened before. After traveling with the youthful and the naive, she's forgotten that there are those who can match her for blow for blow.

Why _he_ stays is anyone's guess, but the former seraph has never been one to explain his motives, only his actions. Yet somehow the two enjoy each others' company, even if they won't quite speak it aloud. It's part of the story lying unfinished on the loom, and while the clock chimes in the background, they continue to walk and talk and inhabit each others' existence as naturally as if it has always been so.

They both have wounds. The fact hardly needs to be stated, already reflected in Raine's eyes when she looks up at the stars, or Yuan's face as he stares off into the horizon. Silhouettes of the past are always around them, always wedged in between the stones and mortar of their lives.

It is one day in fall that a hole appears in the roof. However it got there, it soon leads the former schoolteacher to spend the hottest part of the day up on that roof, repairing, while Yuan fetches the materials she needs. There is something raw about pounding the nails in with the hammer, a strength that she and only she controls, that makes Raine feel satisfied that her day has not been wasted.

It is something else entirely that convinces Yuan of the same fact.

They are inside at last, Yuan sprawled on the couch and Raine perched in a rocking chair, sipping tea. Yuan's eyes are closed, ponytail half-undone, boots discarded somewhere on the floor. This is what convinces the silver-haired half-elf that he is truly comfortable here. She has never seen him take his boots off in the former days, or look as relaxed as he does now. It makes her smile, to think that while life had worn them both to the bone, he is somehow restful here in a sense that he has not been before. And since he has come, despite his sarcastic attitude that rivals her own, she has felt more restful too.

It is not by impulse that Raine does what she does next. It is more of a knowledge that she would have done it all along, and that now was the eventuality where she acts. It is not a hesitant thing, merely deliberately slow, as Raine sets done her teacup on the table and walks over to the side of the couch, looking down at the half-asleep seraphim. He opens his eyes and observes her in silence, as if waiting to see what she will do next. She bends over, looking straight into his eyes, and then touches her lips to his. She does not seek comfort here, she tells herself, as the man on the couch tells him self the same thing. But either way, neither is willing to let go so soon, and for a moment the outlines of their lives are sharply defined without the previous, faded tones, and echoes of yesterday.

They eventually break the kiss, but Raine knows that now they will not look at the silhouettes of shadows behind them after this, but rather the clarity that can be found in each other and in their own world that they have created here in this place.

_Fin._


	7. sound

**Title**: Sound  
**Pairing**: Yuan/Raine  
**Fandom**: Tales of Symphonia  
**Theme**: #17 - kilohertz  
**Rating**: PG  
**Spoilers**: Ending Spoilers.  
**Disclaimer**: I do not own Tales of Symphonia.

_Sound_

There is something about Yuan that Raine simply cannot see for the life of her. Oh, she can see many things. She's had to in her time. But there is something about the other half-elf sitting across from her that Raine cannot see no matter how hard she studies him.

It's not in his fingers; practiced and deft, and it's not in his knees. Nor is it upon his lips, so firm, yet yielding against hers. It's not even in his eyes, which are just beginning to appear a little less guarded around the young schoolteacher.

It's something that cannot be seen - not really, Raine thinks. She's been searching too long to have missed it. But sometimes, when she isn't looking for it; eyes closed and mind relaxed...that is the moment that she hears it. A whisper; no, not in her ear, but perhaps in her heart.

_Don't leave._

And so she stays.

_Fin._


	8. concinnity

**Title**: Concinnity  
**Pairing**: Yuan/Raine  
**Fandom**: Tales of Symphonia  
**Theme**: #14 - radio-cassette player  
**Rating**: PG-13  
**Spoilers**: Ending Spoilers.  
**Disclaimer**: I do not own Tales of Symphonia. 

_Concinnity_

"Would you be so kind as to move the flower vase onto the center table? Thank you." a well-groomed butler in all his finery moved about the hall making sure all was in order. "Jasmine dear, do be careful, we can't have you spilling that wine on the carpet now, can we? Master Wilder would be most displeased. Ah! Louisa, I said _lilies_, not weeds. Throw those out post-haste. Poor girl should have been disposed of months ago."

"Milord, the Chosen's garments are prepared for him...but we cannot find him anywhere. How do you suppose we dress him?" a maid inquired, appearing at the butler's elbow. "We must have him prepared to make the opening address to the guests."

"He is in the kitchens, I believe, sampling the tart. Master Sage has prepared some simply mouthwatering desserts for tonight," he replied as the maid signaled to her partners to storm the chef's sanctuary.

"Attention all the maids assigned to the Zelos Wilder dress unit, we have found the target," the young woman muttered into her mouth piece. "I repeat, we have found the target. He was last seen in the kitchens. All task forces assemble at the ready. This may get sticky."

-

"And you wanted _curry_ on your noodles, sir?" the young woman on duty at the Sybak Cafeteria asked for the seventeenth time. "_Curry_, but no onions?"

Her customer, an exasperated looking man with long cerulean hair in slight disarray, was leaning over the counter, looking ready to strangle her. "_Rice_ you incompetent fool. I asked for curry _rice_. Nothing else. No onions, no peppers, no tomatoes. _Nothing_."

"We have fresh green peppers in today," she responded uncertainly. "They're really very good..."

"_Just_ curry on the rice. Nothing else." His fingers flexed, crackling with irritation.

"We don't have any curry left, sir," the server responded, after looking down at her pad _again_.

"I just saw a student with wild green hair walk out with _curry_ on his rice!" he replied angrily, slamming his hand down on the counter. The woman narrowed her eyes.

"No need to take that tone with me, sir. If you had made up your mind about what you wanted sooner, mayhaps you might've had some."

"Imbecile human!" the seraph swore angrily as he stalked out of the building, feeling thoroughly like he needed to kill something.

-

"You want me to wear...this?" the silver-haired former schoolteacher looked appraisingly at the garment that lay on the bed in her guestroom.

"The Master has specifically chosen the outfits for all of his particular guests this evening," the maid responded patiently. "Now, if you would let me dress you..."

Raine raised one eyebrow, deciding whether or not to speak up further. Either way, she was going to _murder_ Zelos later.

-

"Servers, in position? Good. The guests are headed this way. Steer the Chosen to the greeting area, will you? We can't have him wandering off left to his own devices at such a crucial point in the preparations. Elise, you may give the order to open the doors. The party will now begin."

The attendant saluted and hurried to follow orders. Throughout the party hall there was a high level of activity. Great oak doors flown open, the guests were now beginning to enter in groups for the fifth annual celebration of the restoration of the Great Tree. A thoughtful servant put on a record player, and the great room filled with music.

"Welcome, welcome!" a flamboyantly dressed young man announced from his position at the podium, tossing his bright red braid over his shoulder. "I would give you a speech, honored guests and gorgeous hunnies, but I think it is far more important to begin celebrating! Bring on the eats, bra-Chef Genis!"

A slightly miffed looking young boy standing by the entryway to the kitchens signaled to the servers to begin bringing in the food he had prepared. Twisting a lock of silver hair around his forefinger and counting to ten, he silently asked himself why he had ever agreed to work with this rambunctious womanizer and then reminding himself once more of the ridiculous amount of gold he received as pay.

"Wine, madam?" the server asked, appearing at Raine's arm. The young woman silently shook her head, focusing her attention on the commotion towards the center of the room. There they all were - Zelos, Lloyd, Colette, Regal, Sheena...even Presea had turned up for this event. They were all looking so grown up; Lloyd especially looked much more grown up than the former schoolteacher recalled, as did the blonde angel he had his arm around. When did they lose that childish innocence they always seemed to have? It made Raine feel much older than twenty-eight.

In the distant halls beyond the doors of the great room, the hour hands of the clocks on the walls made their way slowly round in circles, once, twice, then...

"Another, another!" crooned a well-fed and slightly tipsy Zelos Wilder, grinning and raising a gloved hand to signal the maestro in his disgruntled position beside the record player, muttering rebelliously with the distinct words "live music" repeated over and over. For a moment the tired-looking man appeared like he might refuse, but then, with an air of resignation, he set another record upon the machine and a new song began.

"A dance, Miss Sage?" a low, too-amused-to-be-gentlemanly voice interrupted Raine's thoughts from where she sat by the wall, picking at her food and trying to decide whether or not to finally eat it.

"Go away, Zelos," she responded irritably. If there had been a way to politely excuse herself earlier, Raine would have, but the master of ceremonies, in his infinite wisdom, was keeping close tabs on all the "heroes" for what he was describing as some kind of midnight finale which Raine suspected would not end without trouble.

"It would be an immense shame if I didn't have the chance to dance with you," Zelos complained in his seriousness-lacking way. "I've danced with Sheena, Presea, and Colette; I MUST dance with you! You look so gorgeous in that dress, and it would be _such_ a waste not to show it off."

Raine sighed and stood, facing the determined redhead. The carelessness in his manner tonight unnerved her, but she _did_ owe this to him, at least. Something about the man in front of her made her pity him and she was willing to grant him one boon.

"Very well then."

-

Stepping into the ridiculously over-decorated ballroom, Yuan felt the strong urge to flee the scene in an instant. But he was _hungry_ damnit, and after hunting through what seemed like five-too-many public eat places, the former Renegade leader was not only more than a little impatient, but also becoming decidedly less picky, and since the culprit of all the food shortages seemed to be somewhere in this vicinity, Yuan was not leaving until he had been properly fed.

"Um...may I take you cloak, sir?" an uncertain-looking maid asked, walking over to where Yuan stood in the doorway.

"No, you may not," Yuan replied tartly, walking forward with a deliberate swish of his cape, leaving the maid looking taken-aback. "Now...where?"

Just then, the noise in the hall began to quiet, suddenly filled with excited whispering. Several people stopped dancing to stare. Yuan's eyes slid in the direction of all the other faces to two figures dancing in the middle of the room. The two certainly were a _lively_ pair; the red-haired former Chosen in all his glory with yet another woman on his arm, swathed in deep red silk. Something about this woman was oddly familiar to Yuan...wait. _Raine?_

...no, it couldn't be. His research assistant would never let herself to be paraded around in that dazzli-_horrendous_ dress, by _Zelos Wilder_ of all people! Surely this was a mistake.

But no, at a closer examination it was most _certainly_ Raine, former schoolteacher, hero of Luin, and more importantly - his hired help. Yuan had thought of Raine as a less..._frivolous_ woman than this, otherwise he never would have lended her his complete fifth volume of Cleric Leopold's Record of Saphira's Journey Part IV. Let _alone_ part V.

Pushing through the obnoxiously-thick crowd, Yuan made his way over to where someone had oh-so-cleverly fiddled with the overhead lighting to focus on Raine and the soon-to-be-dead-Zelos Wilder. He paused for a moment, looking at the pretentious former-Chosen with pure annoyance. How dare this cocky, _spoiled_ lordling trundle around Yuan's reputation via his research assistant? This was a matter of _pride_, Sylph-be-damned.

It had nothing to do with the absurdly low neckline on Raine's dress, or her disgustingly happy smile that really did flatter her features if he looked too long but _oh no_ he was not going down that train of thought.

Zelos coughed, glancing at Yuan with a complete lack of recognition. "Er, you're in the way, whoever you are. Mind moving? I'm trying to dance with my dashingly beautiful partner here."

"Y-Yuan?" Raine stuttered, thoughtlessly letting go of Zelos' hands and blushing bright red. Yuan smirked, extending a gloved hand to take one of Raine's.

"Mind if I cut in?" The dangerous words were out of his mouth before the blue-haired seraphim could think. Struggling not to blanch, Yuan lifted his chin and gave the redhead alongside him a haughty look. "You were saying?"

"H-Hey!" Zelos began to protest as Yuan took Raine firmly by the arm and steered her to the center of the room, feeling very satisfied with himself.

"What, pray tell, did you think you were doing?" Yuan asked Raine, a dangerous glint in his eye. "Disappearing for several days and then turning up _here_, with _him_, looking like _this_. I should dock your pay."

Raine was smiling almost _mischievously_, all redness in her cheeks gone. "You aren't _jealous_, are you Yuan?"

The cerulean-eyed seraph snorted derisively. "Never."

"What a shame," Raine replied in the same low, rather attractive tone that was making it very difficult for Yuan to focus right now... "I was having a rather good time with my former dancing partner. At least _he_ could dance. What are we, shuffling?"

Yuan's eyebrows rose, a challenging expression appearing on his face. "Oh, you want to _dance_, do you? I feel rather inclined to show that first-rate 'lord of the dance' just _how_ it's done." With a large swoop, he spun Raine into rather...close proximity, intending to show the sniveling former-Chosen _exactly_ how it was done...

...but somehow managing to get caught in the deep violet eyes of the woman who was in his arms, face not six inches away from his lips...he really needed to get something to eat, obviously the lack of food was causing his thoughts to run rampant...wait, did Raine just bump noses with him or was she not _really_ closer to him than she had been a second before?

"Yuan?" Raine's eyes were wide, unsuspecting. "Are you okay?"

"You are the most infuriating woman I have ever met," Yuan whispered in a low voice, making Raine's breath catch. "But I won't let _him_ have you, either way."

"Yuan, what are y-mmmmmph!"

Raine was abruptly interrupted by the sudden contact of Yuan's lips with her own. Should Yuan have been paying attention, he would have had the pleasure of seeing Zelos fall into a dead faint on the ballroom floor, but the blue-haired seraph found himself quite occupied as the obliging woman in his arms grabbed him firmly by the jaw and kissed back.

_Fin._


	9. time

**Title**: Time  
**Pairing**: Yuan/Raine  
**Fandom**: Tales of Symphonia  
**Theme**: #11 - gardenia  
**Rating**: PG-13  
**Spoilers**: Ending Spoilers.  
**Disclaimer**: I do not own Tales of Symphonia.

_Time_

Raine tried cooking for him, once. It was a simple affair, she assured him as he eyed the black smoke curling up from under the kitchen door. Just some sandwiches. Perhaps some olives. Some of her brother's choice jam. Oh, and she was baking a cherry pie as well.

"I don't do picnics," he tried to explain when the idea first came up, on a warm afternoon in autumn amongst the red-and-gold leaves. Raine had been especially keen on the idea since taking a break from her hermitage in the mountains to visit her younger brother and his fiancé, a charming young redhead who had a definite resemblance to her fool of an older brother, who had tactfully chosen to be absent on that particular occasion.

"Nonsense. Do you _really_ think I'd let you keep working on through the festivities? You'd _never_ stop working if it weren't for me," Raine replied crossly. "It's the Harvest Festival in Iselia, and while _you_, Mister Workaholic, may be content to sit in your base and file papers, I am not content to let you. You won't live forever."

"Won't I?" Yuan asked, a hint of incredulousness in his voice. Raine swore under her breath.

"I didn't mean it that w-" she stopped herself. "But then, not even _you_ will live forever, angel-boy."

Raine took his hand in her own, prodding his Cruxis Crystal lightly with her forefinger. "Not even you."

-

"Uh...er...Yuan?"

Yuan squinted harder at the book in front of him, pretending not to hear anything. He refused to be humiliated by the _ridiculously_ decorated picnic basket that Raine had oh-so-casually foisted off on him. She was a sly, sly woman. But he was content to bide his time until the perfect moment arose to exact revenge.

"Hey, listen..."

Yes, it was the night of the Harvest Moon. There it was, big and golden, just hanging there up in the sky. Yes, he was in New Palmacosta. No, he was not here by choice.

"Fine, whatever. Don't reply. Look, I'm going to just switch out the pie she put in the basket with one of my own, 'kay? Not even _you_ deserve to be subjugated to the horror that constitutes as my sister's cooking."

Not looking up from his book, Yuan gave a fraction of a nod, and then muttered out of the corner of his mouth, "_Thanks_."

The silver-haired young man smiled.

-

"Can you smell them?" Raine asked, leaning over the bridge and looking down at the waterfall.

"Hm?" Yuan always found that noncommittal noises were best when he didn't know what his companion was talking about. It was summer now, and the mountains hummed with life. The one drawback of living in the Latheon Gorge would definitely be the insects that thrived in the humid summertime weather.

"The flowers," Raine answered, looking slightly annoyed. "The smell is heavy in the air - I can't believe you haven't noticed it."

SLAP. Yuan's hand crushed the buzzing bug against his neck, wiping away sweat with his other hand. It could get murderously hot during the summer here in the Gorge, he had quickly found out.

"I'm too distracted by these flying pestilences that keep landing on my neck," Yuan grunted, smoothing his cape distractedly. "We could have been much more comfortable at the Flanoir base."

"This is _summer_," Raine replied, exasperated. "I want to enjoy the season properly. _You_ chose to accompany me here. Now stop complaining and enjoy the flowers."

Yuan leaned over the railing, staring down at the torrent of water. Blue hairs were beginning to slip out of his carefully tied ponytail, but the tired seraph found he couldn't be bothered to straighten it.

"...you could have dressed a little lighter too, you know," Raine added, hiding a smile. "You look ridiculous."

Yuan frowned. "If you are going to spend the rest of the afternoon mocking me, then I will return to Flanoir. Where my clothing is perfectly reasonable."

Raine leaned back, holding onto the railing and staring up at the cloudless sky. "Ten minutes and you're running back to your safety zone. Coward."

Yuan turned to leave. "Coward I may be, but I won't be the one with heatstroke at the end of the day."

Raine snorted derisively, folding her arms as she watched him depart.

-

"Yuan..." Raine was leaning against the doorframe, firelight reflected in her eyes which were fixed on him in a thoughtful manner. "Can I ask you something?"

Yuan raised his eyes to meet hers, remaining hunched over his desk, elbows resting on scattered documents of various kinds. "No one is stopping you, Miss Sage."

"When do you plan on removing that?" Her gaze shifted to the cruxis crystal at his throat. Yuan unconsciously reached one hand to cover the other, as if to check that it was, in fact, still there.

"What do you mean?" he asked, looking uncertain. Raine hid her surprise; she had never seen such a look on this man before, but she needed an answer and couldn't deter.

"I mean, when do you plan do destroy that cruxis crystal? If we intend take our first steps out into this new world, then we must first free the spirits of the old world so that they may pass on." Her jaw was set, gaze even. "You can't keep up this perpetual existence. None of us can. It does mean that you will age...but four thousand years is eternity enough, isn't it?"

Yuan shifted slightly in his chair, saying nothing. Raine took a step towards him. "I've never studied cruxis subjects before...and it may mean that you'll lose your wings and angelic powers. But you won't die. You'll still live your years out like a normal half-elf would, only you'd actually be living and breathing. You wouldn't have to be lifeless, and the soul in your crystal could finally have peace."

Yuan sighed, then slowly rose to his feet, closing the distance between the two of them. He looked at her in silence for some time more, finally opening his mouth as Raine hurried to speak again. "It may disrupt your way of life, but this is about more than _you_, Yuan, it's about _all_ of us and I just think - "

"Raine."

Raine's eyes widened. "Y-Yes?"

"Will you do it for me?" he asked softly, bangs falling in front of his eyes, hiding his expression. "Destroy the crystal...will you do it?"

"O-Of course." Raine avoided Yuan's eyes as she moved his glove away from the back of his hand so that she could reach the crystal. It glinted faintly in the dim light. The glint of new beginnings, Raine mused to herself. For Yuan, for the life of the person who created his crystal...and perhaps for her.

The young schoolteacher gently pried the crystal away from the back of her companion's hand, holding it in her hand for a breif moment before striking it against the edge of the other's desk and hearing it smash into a thousand tiny shards that glowed before fading until there was nothing left to see.

"Thank you." Raine heard Yuan murmur.

"It needed to be done," she replied tersely, beginning to move away.

"It was difficult for me. It was everything from before and...I can't cast things away like you can, Miss Sage." 

Raine turned. Yuan was looking at her contemplatively.

"I think I liked it better when you called me Raine," she said at last, attempting a smile.

Yuan smiled in return, and Raine felt her heart skip a beat at its warmth for she had never seen such _genuine_ emotion from him before.

"Well then, Raine," he said, stepping forward and laying one hand on her shoulder. "Let me thank you properly."

His eyes were a very clear blue, Raine found herself thinking as Yuan bent in closer and pressed his lips against her cheek.

"You're welcome," she whispered, before reaching up and bringing his lips back to her own.

_Fin._


	10. ricochet

**Title**: Ricochet  
**Pairing**: Yuan/Raine  
**Fandom**: Tales of Symphonia  
**Theme**: #21 - violence  
**Rating**: PG-13  
**Spoilers**: Post-game.  
**Disclaimer**: I do not own Tales of Symphonia.

_Ricochet_

Theatrics have never been her style, not until him. She has always been the level-headed analytical Professor, never rash or over-passionate and always, _always_ down-to-earth.

What was it about this fuchsia-winged, cerulean-eyed _snarky_ specimen of a man that had thrown her off balance? The spark -- the _snap_ that seemed to exist between them and only them was enough, it would seem. She certainly didn't mind all else it entailed.

But theirs was a relationship of dynamite and hot coals -- not the kind that fares well at holiday dinner.

...comparing the dessert she had spent hours preparing to the appearance of a victim of the rage of Volt was probably a mistake, he would later realize. And whether it was her look of utmost fury or the bottle of wine that smashed against the door seconds later as he fled the scene, it was clear that there wouldn't be any end to this one.

At least not anytime soon.

_Fin._


End file.
